La Soledad
synopsis
Thirty-five-year-old single mother Adela leaves behind her small town setting and moves to Madrid. She takes an unfulfilling but adequate job to support her new life, in which everything is centered around her infant son. A terrorist attack on a bus will shatter her life and she will have to eventually accept returning to a new daily routine… Antonia owns a small supermarket.
The handsome widow leads a quiet life centered around work, her boyfriend Manolo and her beloved daughters, Ines, Nieves and Helena. The already tense relationship between the three daughters is further complicated when Helena asks to borrow money from her mother to buy a new flat.
Two women, two stories.
prizes and festivals
IFF Cannes 2007 - Un certain regard
IFF Edimburg 2007 - Official Selection
IFF Bruselas 2007 - Official Selection
IFF Haifa 2007 - Official Selection
IFF Toulouse 2007 - Official Selection
IFF San Sebastián 2007 - Made in Spain
IFF Pusan 2007 - Official Selection
IFF Quito 2007 - Official Selection - Critic's Award
IFF Tesaloniki 2007 - Official Selection
Spanish Academy Goya Awards 2008 - Best Film, Best Director (Jaime Rosales) and Best Breakthrough Performance, Actor (José Luis Torrijo)
Cinema Writers Circle Awards, Spain 2008 - Best Director (Jaime Rosales)
Fotograma de Plata Award 2008 - Best Film
Award of the Spanish Actors Union 2008 - Best Lead Performance, Actress (Petra Martínez) and Best Breakthrough Performance, Actress (Sonia Almarcha) in film category
Sant Jordi Awards 2008 - Best Film
IFF Verona 2008- Rosa d’oro Schermi d’Amore – Calzedonia Award -Best Film
review
Un reparto sobresaliente contribuye a hacer del resultado algo tan inusual que debe ser llamado por su nombre: una obra maestra.
Jordi Costa, EL PAIS
Una película de mirada múltiple que destila autenticidad, emoción y sabiduría cinematográfica y humana.
Alberto Bermejo, EL MUNDO *****
Espléndida lección de ascetismo.
Sergi Sánchez, LA RAZÓN
La soledad es una obra muy por encima del la media del cine español. Que emociona y divierte, obviando lugares comunes.
Lluís Bonet, LA VANGUARDIA
Con solo dos películas, el director Jaime Rosales ha conseguido algo que otros cineastas no consiguen en toda su filmografía: afianzar un estilo.
Oti R. Marchante, ABC
Una obra inmensa, imborrable, hermosa y llena de dolor que fascinará a todos los que crean en el cine como espejo-de-la-vida.
David Bernal, ON MADRID
Una gran película.
Fernando Franco, DIARIO DE LEVANTE
Me gusta y me conmueve esta película tan rara. Si Las horas del día me hacía pasar miedo y sentirme mal, La soledad me inyecta comprensión y piedad. Rosales ha elegido un camino difícil, posee estilo, no es un impostor con pretensiones ni un vendedor de humo prestigioso.
Carlos Boyero, EL MUNDO
Una obra valiente, vital y sin fisuras que desentraña cuestiones ajenas a nuestro imaginario cinematográfico. Un fresco poliforme de acerada y brillante promiscuidad visual.
Lolo Ortega, CINEMANÍA
****
Esta no es una película cómoda, pero sí es una película estimulante. Esta no es una película para comer palomitas, pero sí una película para digerir ideas: ideas visuales, ideas formales, ideas humanas.
Nuria Vidal, FOTOGRAMAS
****1/2
Un cine capaz de radiografiar las carencias del alma con imágenes tan penetrantes como austeras, tan coherentes como precisas. Un cine de gran envergadura para un horizonte de futuro.
Carlos F. Heredero, CAHIERS DU CINEMA
El trabajo creativo del autor de Las horas del día en la elaboración del guión y los personajes, como en la investigación sobre las posibilidades del espacio fílmico, el tempo narrativo, la puesta en escena y la dirección de actores, es apasionante.
Fernando Méndez-Leite, GUIA DEL OCIO
La sabiduría de este director nos recuerda al primer Polanski, Rohmer o Loach.
Edmon Roch, GUIA DEL OCIO
Es evidente que en Las señoritas de Avignon de Pablo Picasso y en La soledad de Jaime Rosales habita una disposición intelectual semejante. Se trata del mismo esfuerzo reflexivo sobre la imagen y su forma o, si se prefiere, de la misma distancia personal ante el relato y sus arquetipos. (…) Hay tantas cosas en La soledad que no cabe ni enumerarlas.
Juan Zapater, DIARIO DE NOTICIAS
La soledad, de Jaime Rosales, es una de las mejores películas que he visto en varios años, sin distinción de origen. Creo, sin cortarme, que es una de las mejores películas del nuevo milenio. Creo también que, para el cine español es, por supuesto, un hito que se podría colocar, sin problemas, junto a, por ejemplo, El espíritu de la colmena.
Manuel Hidalgo, EL MUNDO
“We are beings both sensitive and tough, although in the end, our toughness is greater than our sensitivity. The film portrays vulnerable moments in the lives of the characters. In the end, life continues its course over time.”
“...that feeling turned into the need to make a film. A need to share with an audience certain concerns and some anguish as well. Death is somehow at the heart of that anguish. ”
notes of intention
A DIFFUSE FEELING ABOUT LIFE
It all started with a diffuse feeling about life; about the world around us; about how we relate to each other. That feeling turned into the need to make a film. A need to share with an audience certain concerns and some anguish as well. Death is somehow at the heart of that anguish. We are designed both to suffer and to overcome suffering. We are beings both sensitive and tough, although in the end, our toughness is greater than our sensitivity. The film portrays vulnerable moments in the lives of the characters. In the end, life continues its course over time.
Bio-filmography
Jaime Rosales, director and script-writer.
Writer-director Jaime Rosales made his debut feature in 2003 with LAS HORAS DEL DÍA (The Hours Of The Day), presented at the Director’s Fortnight in Cannes, where it won the FIPRESCI Prize. After beginning his career as a screenwriter for film and television, Rosales received a grant to attend the International Film and Television School (EICTV) in San Antonio de los Baños, Cuba. From there, he went on to study at the Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS) in Sydney. Rosales, born in Barcelona in 1970, founded the production company Fresdeval Films in 2001.
polyvision
Polyvision means dividing the screen (in CinemaScope format) into two equal halves. Each half of the screen shows a different perspective on the same scene. The same space may be seen from two different angles (such as a conversation in a kitchen seen from two different positions). Or two fragments of a wider scene can be seen from two different positions (such as the dining room and living room in an apartment, with people coming and going from one to another). The point of using polyvision is to create a homogenous code made up of a set of rules in order to offer a perception system different from a natural format. The challenge has been to achieve a certain break with natural reading, and at the same time, not interfere with the emotions displayed by the story and the characters of the film. About 30% of the total footage were shot in polyvision.
CASTING
To bring the fragments making up Adela and Antonia's stories to life, actors were chosen during a long lasting casting process in which, while not widely known, they proved to be excellent performers. The aim was to form a highly transparent cast with the type of actor comfortable improvising within the scenes described in the script.
SHOOTING
Shooting took place over seven weeks in the summer of 2006, in natural exteriors and interiors in the towns of Sabero and Cistierna in the province of León, and in the city of Madrid. The film was shot in 35mm, to be scanned digitally for postproduction. From its development stage, the project has received support from numerous national and international partners and institutions.
comments from Sonia Almarcha
Adela
Adela is a brave, decisive woman committed to changing her life. Motherless herself, she is a mother who loves her son and won’t settle for less than she deserves. She is a solitary woman of few words. A woman who is not frightened by silence; she is comfortable with it. I think I understand her well-- her enthusiasm for life, her love for her son, her self-assurance. I won’t settle for just anything either. If I don’t like something and I don’t feel good, I do something about it. I look for alternatives. Like her, I am committed to getting on with things, although in her circumstances, I don’t know if I would have her strength. Before rehearsals began, I had marked several scenes that frightened me considerably. They were scenes that required delicacy in the telling, where just the right balance had to be struck—not too much or too little. Since I finished the film, I’ve realized that aside from how it works out in the end, I feel quite satisfied with what I experienced. I feel I did it all with a great deal of love and dedication, and that’s something I can hold onto.
Sonia Almarcha graduated from the Royal Drama School and the William Layton theater laboratory. She has appeared in many TV series and plays. Her films include: “Muertos Comunes” by Norberto Ramos, “Las Razones de mis amigos” by Gerardo Herrero, and “Adosados” by Mario Camus.
comments from Petra Martínez
Antonia
When I read the screenplay, I felt very moved in many moments and I also wondered many things about myself. The stories it tells are very believable situations, misfortunes that happen in real life. The character of Antonia is an ordinary person; someone you could cross paths with on the street where you live. I’d say she is so ordinary that something about her feels familiar to you. To me, Antonia is the synthesis of a mother. She does everything for her daughters, suffers in silence, worries about each of them, and is always available. I understand her love for her children very well. It’s something I clearly identify with. Jaime’s unique way of working and the way he tells stories is what I think will make this a very special film. I think the audience will feel very touched at some points. At others, they’ll watch the action with more distance. That will certainly make them take a colder look at what they are seeing.
Petra Mariínez studied at TEM, the Theater School of Madrid. Her extensive background as an actress includes over twenty stage productions and roles in films such as: “La mala educación” by Pedro Almodóvar”, “Noviembre” by Achero Maña, and “Nadie conoce a nadie” by Mateo Gil.
Production Company
Locations
Language
Format
Shooting
With the support
Distribution
World Sales
Fresdeval Films, S.L.
Wanda Vision S.A.
In Vitro Films, S.A.
Madrid - León
Castellano
35 mm 1:2'35
Julio-Agosto 2006
I.C.A.A. (Ministerio de Cultura)
ICO (Instituto Oficial de Crédito)
TVE (Televisión Española)
I.C.I.C. (Generalitat de Catalunya) TVC (Televisió de Catalunya)
MEDIA
Wanda Vision S.A. (España)
The Match Factory
www.the-match.factory.com
Bio-filmografía
Jaime Rosales, director and script-writer.
Writer-director Jaime Rosales made his debut feature in 2003 with LAS HORAS DEL DÍA (The Hours Of The Day), presented at the Director’s Fortnight in Cannes, where it won the FIPRESCI Prize. After beginning his career as a screenwriter for film and television, Rosales received a grant to attend the International Film and Television School (EICTV) in San Antonio de los Baños, Cuba. From there, he went on to study at the Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS) in Sydney.
Rosales, born in Barcelona in 1970, founded the production company Fresdeval Films in 2001.
filmography
LA SOLEDAD (Solitary Fragments) (2006)
Official Selection Cannes Film Festival 2007 – Un Certain Regard
LAS HORAS DEL DÍA (2003)
FIPRESCI Prize - Director's Fortnight - Cannes 2003
